New to DIY failures

[MotherNatural]

New to the DIY world and so far it's been complete crash and burn in the flavor department. I have to go with 100% VG so I know this is part of the problem and also my taste buds are completely fried at the moment but I do manage to pick up at least some flavor from my store bought liquids. DIY so far have no flavor at all. (I did taste a tad bit of Blueberry in the Blueberry Cheesecake but honestly no flavor at all in the others) I'm using Nature's Flavors organics and apparently need to mix at a much higher level than expected. I keep adding, and adding, and adding. I'll mix, let steep for about two days, then test. Add flavor, repeat. Days later and I still don't have one I can use. They smell terrific but completely lack flavor. How high % should I go with my flavors or am I just using the wrong brand? So far I'm at about 10% to 12% but really it's difficult to be exact because I add more flavor to the bottle after I've removed a sample which raises the final percentage. Can anyone assist a failing but persistent noob?

 

[LoveVanilla]

My sense of taste began to return after 2-3 weeks; while others have stated a month or two. I wouldn't suggest overmixing flavors to compensate as this can also affect your sense of taste. Perhaps best to mix using some popular and proven recipes till your tastebuds return.

 

[ratchet62]

Also, it's well known that too much flavoring can actually kill off all the flavor to begin with.

I started DIY at the 5-7% range. Just last night, I sampled 5 single flavor mixes at 2% flavoring level. All of them actually had a good flavor level. I will now start all my mixes at 2%, and go up from there.

I mix all my testers at 10 ml. When ready to test, I extract .5 or 1 ml exactly, and transfer to a smaller dripper bottle. I will vape all that I extracted. That way I know that I have 9 ml left in the big bottle. If I raise the flavor level, I use my juices calculator to bring the total volume back to 10 ml with additional flavoring and base.

I've found that 3 or 5 ml test batches are harder to work with. Also, after I get my single flavors where I want them, I have 10 mls of juice I can either vape as is, modify slightly for another test, or combine at various ratios with other flavors to try more complex, multi flavor juices.

 

[skittles2978]

I would agree with Lovevanilla, Mixing some proven recipes would defininitly help, here is a link to a recipe book that may help you in your DIY journey..Good Luck and VAPE ON!!

E-Liquid Recipe Book | Your Online Place for All Your E-Liquid Recipes

 

[michaelsil1]

NF Flavors need to be mixed higher 15-20%

 

[Elizabeth Baldwin]

One thing to remember is percentages are also based on what vendor you got your flavors from! Flavor west usually needs 15% or even higher. But everyone's tastes are different... I've seen some need only 4% while others swear by 20% with the same vendor.

Start very low on flavor... Say 4%, let it steep for a few days, the try it, if its not ready, add 1 or 2% more flavor, then let it steep again... Eventually you'll get a ratio that fits your taste buds, it takes trial and error!,

 

[Stosh]

You can taste a mix without steeping, it might not be exactly what your final result might be, but you'll be able to taste if the percentage is close or way off....

 

[MotherNatural]

Thank you for the suggestions and support. Maybe I should give my taste buds a little more time to heal before I go much further. It would be nice to have a DIY flavor or two to turn to in the mean time tho. Looks like it will take some time before I can even attempt to duplicate my fav store bought juice. I will for sure check out the recipes and duplicate one or two for now. Thank you for the link. I also have some Nude Nicotine flavors on order. We'll see if brand makes any difference.
I ordered the Nature's Flavors from High Desert Vapes and their site suggests 1%. Yea….no!
But I think resting the buds might be best for now.

 

[disco180]

Add drops of lemon or lime juice to your mixes the acid will awaken your taste buds

 

[MotherNatural]

Yes, that is a great idea. I can taste peppermint too. But unfortunately I have neither. OH NO…and tomorrow is a holiday…no mail. I'll be sitting out by the mailbox on Tuesday that's for sure

 

[MotherNatural]

I just sampled a two day old batch that had flavor mixed at 10%. Nothing. Drat. It must be me.

 

[dannyv45]

Add drops of lemon or lime juice to your mixes the acid will awaken your taste buds

Recent tests and discussions have shown that adding lemon will boost flavors in the beginning but actually mute flavors in the long run. I myself have experienced this and have since stopped using ACV and lemon. You can read more on this towards the end of this thread.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ques-flavor-add-ons-em-vw-bw-mts-acv-ect.html

 

[LoveVanilla]

Start very low on flavor... Say 4%, let it steep for a few days, the try it, if its not ready, add 1 or 2% more flavor, then let it steep again... Eventually you'll get a ratio that fits your taste buds, it takes trial and error!,

And, if mixing TFA's M-Type or Raisin, start at less than 1% or

 

[disco180]

Recent tests and discussions have shown that adding lemon will boost flavors in the beginning but actually mute flavors in the long run. I myself have experienced this and have since stopped using ACV and lemon. You can read more on this towards the end of this thread.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ques-flavor-add-ons-em-vw-bw-mts-acv-ect.html

That is truly the truth, but if mixing small batches of 5 ml or so it works great for the right now.

 

[MotherNatural]

I've got some lemon-mint flavor on the way. That may wake them up.

 

[dannyv45]

That is truly the truth, but if mixing small batches of 5 ml or so it works great for the right now.

For test batches if you need lemon to improve your test mix for the here and now and disregard what it will taste like down the road then that in it's self is a problem. If there's something wrong with the test mix then the effort should be on fixing the problem and not masking it.

 

[ratchet62]

For test batches if you need lemon to improve your test mix for the here and now and disregard what it will taste like down the road then that in it's self is a problem. If there's something wrong with the test mix then the effort should be on fixing the problem and not masking it.

I'm with danny on this one. I fell into the ACV and lemon juice trap. Works great when first mixed, but let it sit awhile, and flavor fades.

I've since eliminated their use in my recipes.